


He Forgot to Lock the Door

by spacewhistler



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Crack, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 12:56:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4747244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacewhistler/pseuds/spacewhistler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sho forgot to lock the door to his apartment. But he was a little too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Forgot to Lock the Door

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Prompt table #4. 12 - Apology
> 
>  **Notes:** Inspired by one of the lines from [this witty list of prompts](http://onetruepairingideas.tumblr.com/post/127906252171/ridiculous-sentence-prompts). I actually laughed when I thought about writing this one.

“Shit.”

Sho was in a rush that sweltering Monday morning that it was right before he boarded the train when he remembered he forgot to lock the door to his apartment. It was not that he was worried about robbers and losing some from his small number of furniture, but the landlord has repeatedly reminded him of responsibilities as a tenant in the building. It was a common occurrence so he was used to the feeling of brief panic as he scurried back to his home.

The apartment building was thankfully, just a few blocks away from the train station but his room was situated on the sixth floor, at the end of the long corridor, his door directly facing the fire exit. Sho was panting to catch his breath when he reached his floor, his hand automatically reaching for his handkerchief from the inside pocket of his suit. With a groan, he used it to wipe the sweat breaking out from his forehead and all over his face.

Why, oh why did he have to forget to lock the door every single time?

He proceeded to drag his feet to his room but halted his languid steps when he saw his door ajar. 

_Oh no._

Leaving his door open was like an open invitation to strangers and Sho could not believe that his foolish mistake would lead to this. He spotted the fire extinguisher near the door to the fire exit and he clutched it with shaky hands. Sho opened the door, enough to let him in, and with the fire extinguisher in his hands, he poised to attack the intruder, whoever this person was. 

The living room was quiet. But he could hear cluttering sounds from his kitchen. 

With a gulp, he continued his trek inside his own apartment and made his way towards the sound. 

Sho was prepared to witness anything. A dead body, a suspicious stranger in camouflage clothes, an intruder with a gun bigger than his body, or even a homeless person in need of food. Anything and anyone would have been better than the sight that greeted him.  
He nearly dropped the fire extinguisher on his feet.

“W-What…”

Ohno Satoshi was there, a spoonful of Sho’s cereal halfway to his mouth, staring back at him from his kitchen island. For a few moments, everything was silent, as if time stopped for them to relish this unexpected meeting.

But Sho regained his consciousness, and he was seething. 

With furrowed brows, he shouted, “Who are you and what are you doing here?!”

Bewildered, the intruder dropped his spoon on the cereal bowl to put his hands up in surrender. He sheepishly muttered, “Sho-chan, um, it’s me.”

The raging Sakurai Sho marched towards the guy and forcefully grabbed the collar of his wrinkly shirt. It was then that Sho confirmed that this really was Ohno Satoshi. In the flesh. Alive. And apparently hungry enough that he finished Sho’s newly bought box of cereal.

“You fucking bastard—”

It took all of Sho’s restraint to keep himself from throwing a well-deserved punch at this guy’s face. But the sleepy eyes were trained on him, as if begging for his understanding. He vehemently released Satoshi from his rough hold and instead, slammed his fist on the table, causing the bowl of cereal to jump and spill some of its contents all over the surface. Satoshi, the said bastard, was speechless but he kept his beseeching gaze on Sho.

“You’re angry,” Satoshi uttered in realization, his head bowed. 

“Who wouldn’t be angry?” Sho spluttered, looking anywhere but at Satoshi’s hunched form. “You ate all of my cereal and faked your death for three years!”

Satoshi didn’t respond and somehow, that ignited the anger in Sho’s heart, thoroughly hurt by the betrayal.

Three years ago, Sho mourned the loss of Ohno Satoshi, the guy he had unrequitedly loved for years, and his best mate. Three years ago, Satoshi was declared dead by authorities after they found “his” body floating in the sea where he went fishing. Three years ago, regrets pestered Sho, almost every day after Satoshi’s burial. 

And now the bastard showed up in his apartment, eating his cereal as if he didn’t cause Sho heartbreak and pain through all the years he pretended to be dead. 

Sho’s fragile heart leaped when a hand reached up to wipe the tears on his face. See, he didn’t even notice he was crying. He was intently staring at the stove, knowing that he’d break down if his eyes met Satoshi’s for a second.

All these years, Sho never failed to visit Satoshi’s grave, giving him flowers as he should have done when he was still alive. He would sit there and tell Satoshi stories from his boring job as a salaryman after work hours. He would bring a spare onigiri and leave it there because he knew Satoshi loved onigiri bought from the convenience store. Sho loved to pretend that Satoshi was still alive.

But here Satoshi was, truly alive, and Sho could not even spare him a glance because he was afraid. He was afraid that everything was just a figment of his frequent hallucinations and Satoshi would disappear, just like he always did in Sho’s dreams. At the same time, he was afraid that this was true, that Satoshi was really there, alive, and fooled everyone, including him.

“I missed you,” Satoshi whispered. “I’m really sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you. I know it’s inexcusable but if there was another way, I wouldn’t have faked a death and hurt you.”

“Why?” 

Sho closed his eyes to hold back his tears while a pair of familiar arms, wrapped around his waist. He dropped the fire extinguisher he was holding limply at his side, making a resounding thunk on his floor. 

“Loan sharks. Since I have no family anymore, they could only hurt me to obtain money. I didn’t tell you about them because I don’t want to drag you into my personal problems. So I orchestrated my death and left all of you out of it, except for Okada, my childhood friend working for the rescue team. He was the only one who knew I wasn’t dead. He did all the work to fake my death. Since then, I have been living in the dingy shed near the cemetery. I made friends with the caretaker and he let me stay there for three years after explaining my dilemma,” Satoshi explained. He buried his tear-streaked face on the back of Sho’s suit and sniffed. “I lived off of the onigiri you leave on my grave every day. I took all the flowers from my grave to the shed. I would listen to your stories from behind a nearby tree. Thank you…Sho-chan.”

“Idiot.”

Sho turned in Satoshi’s arms and wrapped his own arms around the other’s body. 

“You’re not leaving again?” Sho asked.

Satoshi shook his bowed head.

“Well, good,” Sho finally smiled, releasing a breath of utter relief. He tightened his arms around Satoshi and remarked, “Because you have to pay for my cereal, your every day supply of onigiri, and the flowers I selflessly bought you.”

 

**\+ Omake**

Sho planned the whole thing with Satoshi.

And it was all worth it.

They recreated the intruder surprise at Nino, Masaki and Jun’s shared apartment. Jun put on a brave front, Nino trailed behind, restraining his over-the-top reactions to the littlest sounds, and Masaki was the one who shouted the loudest when he saw Satoshi happily eating the pasta Jun made the night before. 

“ _Tadaima._ ”


End file.
